This invention relates to improved portable power tools and methods for forming wooden frame assemblies for a building or the like. Certain features of the invention have been shown and described in my disclosure document No. 012,502 entitled "Automatic Brace Cutter" filed July 31, 1972 in the United States Patent Office now U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,242.
In constructing a wooden frame building, it is conventional to connect diagonal cross braces to the studs of the various walls of the building, in order to very positively retain the studs in a proper position of parallelism with respect to one another, and in accurately perpendicular relationship with respect to the top plates and lower mudsill of the wall. To avoid interference by the cross braces with the application of wall board or other wall covering to the outer faces of the wooden studs, diagonal aligned notches are cut in the studs to a depth enabling reception of the cross brace within the notches in a `let-in` relation avoiding projection of the cross braces outwardly beyond the plane of the outer faces of the studs.
The conventional method utilized by carpenters in the construction industry for forming such notches in a series of studs to receive a cross brace requires the formation of three separate cuts with a portable circular saw in each stud, to form each individual notch. Specifically, two parallel diagonal cuts are first formed at spaced locations in an edge of the stud, to form opposite sides of the notch, and then a third cut extending between and perpendicular to these first two cuts is made at a location to form the inner wall of the notch. The exact dimensions and positions of these cuts and the resultant notches are of course extremely critical, since the notches must be both large enough to accept the brace and small enough for a snug fit.
This conventional prior art method of forming the brace notches has several drawbacks. In the first place, the three marking and cutting operations which must be performed on each stud in carrying out this process require the expenditure of a considerable amount of time in notching each stud, and as a result needlessly increase the cost of forming and assembling a wall frame. Further, if any of the three cuts is not formed at precisely the right location, or to a great enough depth, the notch may not be large enough to receive the brace, and it may be necessary to recut the stud to a larger size. If the notch is made slightly too deep or too wide, the completed wall frame may have less than the designed structural strength by virtue of a failure of the brace to fit snugly into and be confined closely within the notch.